1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a dehydration device and methods for drying biological materials to produce dried biological materials having enhanced structural properties. More specifically, the invention relates to a dehydration device and related methods for drying biological tissue to produce enhanced tissue grafts.
2. State of the Art
The storage and preservation of biological materials is crucial for the success of many applications involving biological materials. Drying, dessication and dehydration (hereinafter used interchangeably) is one of the tools and methods available. To date, a variety of devices and methods have been used to prepare biological materials in a dehydrated form in order to confer benefits such as reduced weight and reduced storage space, and also increased chemical and/or structural stability. While each of these devices have certain benefits, they also come with certain detriments including one or more of the following, prolonged drying time, limited capacity, uneven drying, and the like.
Current drying technologies employ, for example, air drying, drying with microwaves, drying at sublimation phase, and drying at various temperature conditions. These methods, however, can take an extended period of time to complete and/or may lack uniformity as to the drying process and rate. Other methods involve lyophilization and/or freeze-drying, which may allow for extended storage of some dried biological materials but are unsuitable for others. Further, some of these methods use chemicals such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), carbohydrates, paraformaldehyde and the like to fix biological materials during the lyophilization process. These chemicals often modify the biological materials and compromise their functions. Some other methods use sugars to stabilize biological materials prior to freeze-drying. These types of processes, however, may produce ice crystals and damage biological material structures.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a dehydration device and methods of using the device that enhance the rate and uniformity of the dehydration process without causing damage to their structure or function.